Maybe I wasn't clear. I know that there are a load of threads here about the causes of dropped frames, and I've read several of them. But I haven't yet read about the pluses/minuses of setting VDub so that it doesn't drop frames - I'm just trying to find out if that is a good/bad idea. The only outcome that I can see is that the audio and video could lose sync, which is fixable, and considering the condition of the video I'm working on, would be the lesser of two evils. But would there be any gain (no pun intended), video-wise, if VD was configured to not drop frames?

Don't blame VirtualDub. You need a better player for damaged tape, and a line tbc.

Did you even read my posts?

I'm not blaming VD for anything. I'm not even complaining about the dropped frames.

I'm wondering about the consequences of configuring VD to not drop any frames. Is it a good idea or a bad one, and why? Will I actually capture more of the frames that way, or will it not matter (due to the condition of the tape)?

There is no "don't drop frames" button in VirtualDub. Any capture software product will drop, insert, or duplicate frames if it's being fed garbage with bad line and frame timing errors. You should try a vcr that can handle your damaged tape (some vcr's can do a better job, some can't) -- and from your description of the problem you need a line tbc. And even at that, poor playback won't be absolutely perfect.

You didn't describe your capture setup. What player? What capture device or adapter? Are you using any filters during capture?

Since the added frames are designed to keep the audio in sync I would have thought that turning that off defeats the object unless there are very few added frames.

Turning that off would probably create an offset but if it is not consistant then how could you 'fix' it ?

Yes, that's what I'm referring to. Would that result in more frames captured, or would that just create empty or invalid frames?

As far as re-syncing the audio, I assume that it would have to be done manually (which, for this tape I'm working with, wouldn't be too terribly bad, and might be worth it if I can get a better quality capture).

as was hinted earlier, the content on tape that is the problem. an better vcr might improve the capture since some vcrs have options for calibration and stabilizer on/off settings. my jvc HR-S3910U has these two important features. if i turn any of them on, they induce frame drops. i have some content on tapes that jump up/down, this causes the capture to loose sync somehow and drop frames. but there are other factors that you can drill down to the source of the frame drops.

as was hinted earlier, the content on tape that is the problem. an better vcr might improve the capture since some vcrs have options for calibration and stabilizer on/off settings. my jvc HR-S3910U has these two important features. if i turn any of them on, they induce frame drops. i have some content on tapes that jump up/down, this causes the capture to loose sync somehow and drop frames. but there are other factors that you can drill down to the source of the frame drops.

I'm experiencing the opposite. I'm using a JVC HR-S9911U which has a TBC/NR switch. With this tape I've been capturing with the TBC/NR switch off, which produces more dropped frames (and the tape jumping you mentioned) but seems to generate better picture detail. I thought I would make two new captures from the tape of identical video - one with the switch off, the other with the switch on - and see which one cleans up better with avisynth.

I'd suggest there's something amiss with that 9911. Some years back I bought a 9911 brand-new that gave a similar image. I returned it next day, brought home a 2nd copy, and it did exactly the same thing (but added occasional red flashing across one side during play). I returned that as well and never went to JVC again. Over the years I owned three 1990's-era JVC's and used them with excellent results until they died just after parts support was discontinued.

Later JVC's from about 1998 and later did not track damaged tapes very well, and none of them were the best choice for 6-hour tapes. Meanwhile, perhaps someone can take a look at the video heads -- unless that tape has been previously damaged with bad heads. All VCR's deveop alignment problems; worn belts and capstan assemblies seem to be the usual cause.

I assume you're capturing with composite because the Ati '128' doesn't have s-video inputs? I owned one of those way-back-when; I seem to remember it took s-video, but that was a long time ago so I could be wrong about that. VHS will play better thru s-video if your capture device will accept the cable. S-VHS is a tape format, while s-video is a type of cable. You can play anything with s-video, including DVD's and outputs from cable boxes. s-video won't work with HD.

I'd suggest there's something amiss with that 9911. Some years back I bought a 9911 brand-new that gave a similar image. I returned it next day, brought home a 2nd copy, and it did exactly the same thing (but added occasional red flashing across one side during play). I returned that as well and never went to JVC again. Over the years I owned three 1990's-era JVC's and used them with excellent results until they died just after parts support was discontinued.

Later JVC's from about 1998 and later did not track damaged tapes very well, and none of them were the best choice for 6-hour tapes. Meanwhile, perhaps someone can take a look at the video heads -- unless that tape has been previously damaged with bad heads. All VCR's deveop alignment problems; worn belts and capstan assemblies seem to be the usual cause.

My JVC deck usually does very well with tapes in good condition - I think (and hope) that the problems with this tape are because of its bad condition... it came to me somewhat damaged.

Originally Posted by sanlyn

I assume you're capturing with composite because the Ati '128' doesn't have s-video inputs? I owned one of those way-back-when; I seem to remember it took s-video, but that was a long time ago so I could be wrong about that. VHS will play better thru s-video if your capture device will accept the cable. S-VHS is a tape format, while s-video is a type of cable. You can play anything with s-video, including DVD's and outputs from cable boxes. s-video won't work with HD.

My ATI card does indeed have an s-video port. I'm using the composite lines because, years ago, I did a comparison between s-video and composite and at the time it appeared to me that composite looked better than s-video.